Updated on December 10, 2021
For the first time since October 2013 (according to Comichron), DC’s lead in comic sales over Marvel, thanks to their latest reboot/revamp, “Rebirth.” The top selling comic this month was “Justice League” #1.
Below are the top 10 selling comics for July 2016, per Comichron and Diamond.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 2 | JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 3 | BATMAN #2 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 4 | CIVIL WAR II #3 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 5 | BATMAN #3 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 6 | NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 7 | CIVIL WAR II #4 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 8 | NEW SUPER MAN #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 9 | NIGHTWING #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 10 | HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
Several of these titles, including “Batman,” are now bimonthly titles, which is one way of boosting DC’s sales. Of course, despite lowering their prices from $4 to $3 an issue, it also means spending $6 instead of $4 to follow just one title each month.
DC took eight of the top 10 slots this month; the only two Marvel entries are two “Civil War II” issues.
Below are the top 10 trade paperbacks and graphic novels for July.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MONSTRESS VOLUME 1 TP (MR) | $9.99 | IMA |
| 2 | HARLEY QUINN’S GREATEST HITS TP | $9.99 | DC |
| 3 | BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL EDITION HC | $17.99 | DC |
| 4 | STAR WARS: OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 5 | HUCK TP | $14.99 | IMA |
| 6 | SOUTHERN BASTARDS VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING TP (MR) | $14.99 | IMA |
| 7 | SAGA VOLUME 6 TP (MR) | $14.99 | IMA |
| 8 | BONE CODA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TP | $14.95 | CAR |
| 9 | WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN VOLUME 1: BERZERKER TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 10 | AGENTS OF SHIELD VOLUME 1: COULSON PROTOCOLS TP | $17.99 | MAR |
A varied mix of publishers here, led by Image at #1 with “Monstress.” “Monstress” is a series by Marjorie Liu that Image describes as “steampunk meets kaiju,” set in an alternate-past version of early 20th century Asia. The Big Two take up half of the slots, but the majority of the top 10 aren’t superhero titles.
The top five comic publishers’ dollar and unit share respectively:
- DC Comics, 35.36%/40.96%
- Marvel, 34.2%/35.69%
- Image, 8.15%/7.56%
- IDW, 4.49%/3%
- Dark Horse, 2.83%/1.98%
Sales declined (by dollars/units) by 13.77%/6.16% from June. Since July 2015, dollar share fell by 3.01%, but unit share rose by 8.28%. For the year to date, sales are down 1.08%/4.94%.
Once again, major reboots (or whatever DC wishes to call “Rebirth”) still sell, especially with being accompanied by brand new #1 issues.
As a contrast to the above, here’s the New York Times’ best seller list for paperback graphic novels for the week of August 21, 2016. Only one Big Two title (1990s Vertigo title “Preacher”) appears, and six of the 10 titles are written by women. The top selling book is “March: Book Three,” the third installment of the “March” series of graphic novels about Congressman John Lewis’ participation in the civil rights movement. The first two installments take up the second and third place spots.
